


Anything Goes

by Charlie Rotanev (Immerghensi)



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, M/M, Stage Crew, Theatre
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-07
Updated: 2015-07-07
Packaged: 2018-04-08 02:14:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,577
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4286901
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Immerghensi/pseuds/Charlie%20Rotanev
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Whoever thought putting Dean on stage crew was a good idea needed a stern talking to about involuntary volunteering. That, and a swift punch to the throat.</p><p>Featuring Senior!Dean, Junior!Castiel, Flamboyant!Gabriel, TechNerd!Sam, the heavenly host as actors, the hunters as the stage crew and the members of the Pit as the members of the Pit.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Anything Goes

**Author's Note:**

> For all intents and purposes:  
> -Dean's birthday is at the end of June/graduation  
> -Sam is only 2 years younger than Dean  
> -The play takes place in the spring  
> -The Novak parents are Becky and Chuck  
> -Michael and Lucifer are 22  
> -Raphael is 20  
> -Gabriel 18  
> -Dean is 17  
> -Anna is 17  
> -Castiel is16  
> -Sam is 15

"I swear to fuck, Charlie, if you've set me up to get slapped in the face with more fruit, I will end you." She's got him blindfolded and walking down what he thinks is the ground floor west wing. He knows he shouldn't trust her, but hey- where's the fun in staying safe?   
  
"Shut it, Dean- that was one time. Stop being such a baby."   
  
"It was a 20-pound pumpkin, Charlie!"   
  
"Yeah, so? Whatever. Besides, you love me to much to do anything."   
  
"I will drain pumpkin guts on you."   
  
"Oh, I'm so scared." She waves her arms up in a sort of flailing motion, bearing some resemblance to a turtle on its back.    
  
"You and your girlfriend." Dean counters.    
  
"You know that isn't smart. She will destroy you and I will do nothing to try to stop it. Now step up- we got some stairs."    
  
Dean stubs his toe and let's out a long string of his own brand of curses. The echo comes back at him and automatically he knows where he is.    
  
"Charlie..." He says sternly in his best parent-like tone.    
  
"Dean..." She copycats back. He turns his head towards her. "OK fine. Here you go."   
  
There's a brightness shining in his face from above. He feels like he's having a staring contest with a lighthouse light. Dean puts his hands on his forehead like a visor and whispers, "Oooooooh, mama..." to no one in particular. He knows exactly where he is. He just can't figure out why.    
  
"The hell is this, Charlie?" He grumbles.    
  
"So remember how you owe Sam for just about everything and you owe me for that time doing that other thing two days ago? So yeah- time to pay up!"    
  
"You cannot be serious." He leaves on his back leg. Some old lady walks out on stage and calls for everyone to get out on stage. Dean turns back to Charlie, whose smug grin says it all. "You're totally fucking serious."   
  
"Come on! Crew is usually really fun! It can't be that bad!"   
×××××   
It's that bad.    
By the time they get to leave, Dean feels the urge to swing his drill and let it fly into Zachariah's annoying face. The guy thinks he can do whatever he wants just because he’s higher up on the totem pole than Dean and his posse, and that puts him in the ‘enemy’ category in his book. He’s too sore to deal with the douchebaggery at the moment.They started the heavy lifting and taking out screws from the remains of the last set so they can recycle everything for tomorrow. They have to build a fucking boat-stage hybrid or whatever. The dude who runs it is pretty sick, so Dean's not totally ready to have someone push him off the rafters.   
  
"Where the hell is the crew? They need to put our stuff away." Says one of the prissy actresses. Dean scowls and sends her a dirty look. He's about ready for the rafter jump now. Just get it over with. "Um.... Hello?" She waves at him. Oh. Right. Bitchy girl.   
  
"What the hell do you want?"    
  
"Dressing room? Stage crew does this stuff for us...?"   
  
"You're a big girl. Do it yourself." He shrugs because honestly, no one is gonna be the boss of him if they act like that.    
  
"Ugh, how rude! Who the hell do you think you are?"   
  
"Not my department! I'm not a stage crew member whose jobs is to babysit play bitches like you." The girl walks away and Dean is satisfied with himself.   
  
He goes about replacing all the drill bits and piling up the wood. Charlie gives him the warning signal and he barely has enough time before his goody-goody little brother is stomping up to him. Sam is not satisfied with Dean being a jerk to girls. It's just not supposed to happen. He's all chivalry and no reality sometimes.   
  
"What the hell, Dean?!"   
  
"OK, Sammy, honestly that chick was really asking for it. I mean, we're crew and we have things to do besides hang up dresses and stuff." 

**  
**

“That doesn’t mean you have to be an ass to girls!” Sammy storms off after her, probably to apologize. There’s a short guy in the year abovementioned him giving him an amused look. “What are you gawking at?” He growls. The other student shrugs and walks away into the actor’s dressing rooms. 

Dean needs to cool down. Now.

Usually he and Sam have regular spurts of fighting. It runs like clockwork- they can’t go more than a handful of hours together before they find something to fight about. They always make up though, and that’s what part of the process they’re on now. He’ll go back and apologize and it’ll be fine.    
  


The guy heading up the set building team lets them out at 7:30 and Dean practically carries Sam out of the sound booth and to the car. He can’t wait to just kick back at home and chill. The days are long in the beginning of the year, and he’s in a perpetual summer mode. 

"Slow down!" Sammy hisses. 

**  
**

"For who?" They pull into their street and Dean feels a pang of dismay as he parks on the curb. "Sammy, wait here."    
×××××

He knows by the way John parked that he's drunk. The car is haphazardly across the top half of their grey gravel driveway, which means he was in a rush. Historically, he hasn’t been in a rush to do anything for Dean or Sam. He goes out into the woods for a few days at a time, then comes back to restock on booze. ‘I’m going hunting’ he says, but Dean’s starting to question if that’s really what’s going on. 

**  
**

Dean lost faith in God a long time ago. Every time he asks for something, he gets hopeful and ends up disappointed. It was a vicious cycle that never worked, so he broke it. If he wants something, he'll go and take it for himself. He's a strong, good looking, and independent person. 

No God necessary.

**  
**

Still....

**  
**

It's hard not having someone to lean on. They-he and Sammy, that is- lost their father a long time ago. Probably before Dean lost God. John comes home in a drunken rage more often than not, and the days when he isn't so intoxicated Dean has to drag him upstairs and toss him in bed, he treats his eldest like a warrior and his youngest like a mistake. Mary died to protect him, and he doesn't quite want to wrap his head around that yet. He's in pain, missing his wife, but that doesn't give him an excuse to take out that pain on his sons. Dean has tried to be patient, but he and everyone else he knows knows that it isn't his strong suit.    
×××××

He seriously considers bailing on Charlie and the crew, but that would mean a victory for them and that just can't happen. It could be thirty years later, maybe more, and they would still insult him for ducking out of his responsibility. Sammy looks proud and Charlie just claps him on the back and it feels alright, being here. After getting over the initial shock of being involuntarily volunteered, Dean decides that this might not be such a bad thing. He needs some extra curricular activities if he wants to get into college. 

That's the end goal- he can deal with his shitty teachers and all the people who don't give a fuck about school, but he has to get himself out of there. This deadbeat town will swallow him and add him to the conglomerate of characters that are as permanent to this dynamic as the canyons they live amongst. It’s like a drug, living here- you could only take so much of it before you could never get out of its clutch.    
  


“Hey! Pie face! Snap out of it!” Yelled Gilda from the ceiling light control room.

**  
**

“You do your job and I’ll do mine!” Dean laughs back. Some of the cast decided that they should run around on the set’s frame. It’s a risky business and everyone with a power tool has already yelled at them, so if they need to get carted to the hospital on a stretcher, that’s their problem.

 

Some of the actors are ok. Most of them are not, but Dean is willing to overlook the assholes in favor of the others. Case in point, the Novak clan. They’re a family of eight because birth control apparently isn’t a thing where they’re from. Actually, they’re more like a set of six since their parents are almost constantly off on mission trips with the church. The family has been patrons for god knows how long, and in a town like this, that puts Chuck and Becky Novak on a pedestal. The two eldest are Michael and Lucifer, who graduated when Dean was still in middle school. Lucifer is the black sheep simply because he wanted to work for a business other than the family one. Raphael is next in line, and he studies far, far away from all this bullshit. (Smart man, Dean decides.) Gabriel is the middle child. He’s gayer than a flying rainbow unicorn and everyone knows it. He’s never been tied down, though, and it’s weird considering how many guys there are and how many nights there are where he could have one, if not multiple--

**  
**

Nope. Not going there. Hell no.

**  
**

The fourth is the only girl, Anna, a senior ginger with a bookish look and a tongue sharper than a steak knife. She’s smart and steadfast, and Dean admires her for that. Then there’s the baby of the Novak clan, Castiel. The little junior doesn’t do much, and it’s a fucking Christmas miracle that he got into the play. Not only that, but he’s got one of the lead roles! It just doesn’t make sense. This whole play is going straight down to hell and nothing the crew does is gonna stop that. No one can even see them, for fuck’s sake- they just wait around in the wings to be summoned to life and then resume their positions like gargoyles. 

×××××

Things aren't looking too hot.

Dean hates having to send Sammy out, even if it is only too keep him safe. Their dad used to be at least a little bit more stable, choosing to take out his anger on the basement walls or the mirror in the center bathroom. 

**  
**

All he can do now is dodge. John has been screaming at him for the better part of two hours, cursing him for how they live now like he usually does, for his worthlessness, for everything. Deam sent Sam outside half an hour ago, and he’s probably at the park on the swings (unless someone got him)(but the kid’s smart, he’ll be fine)(and Dean can just beat the shit out of whoever messes with his brother) (so yeah, he's fine) doing whatever he does when Dean sends him out. 

**  
**

“You’re nothing!” John hurls the empty bottle of beer, which Dean catches, followed by the  empty bottle of rum, which he also catches. 

**  
**

"Dad, you're out of control!" Dean snarls back. 

"Don't talk back to me, young man!" and Dean doesn't have enough time to transfer the bottles or put them down before the Jack Daniel's clips him square in the eye. John seems confused with himself, sitting back in his easy chair, mulling life over. 

**  
**

He's quiet, unsure whether or not fight more. "I'll come back tomorrow. You'll be better then." Dean mutters. His eye feels like it's burst and his skull may or may not be fractured. He can't let anyone see him like this, so he bundles up in a dark hoodie and spends the night in the treehouse. Dean falls asleep wondering where Sam is. 

×××××   
The black eye he thought would fade by now hasn't, and there are people staring. He hates this. He hates people trying to pass  judgment on him without truly knowing.    
But that's life, and he must come to terms with it sober or later.    
School is finally over, so he books it to crew. There are only a handful of people in the back hall behind the stage. The first two he sees stare at him and run away. Gluttony and Lust are probably going to get out the big guns now, if they're here. There's Gabriel walking into the guy's room with a pile of clothes, and Dean isn't about to go in there after him. Charlie won't be in later, and she knows exactly what's going on and has what he needs. So his options are to ask the little black haired boy at the counter or get a pit orchestra member. 

**  
**

Well then. 

  
He would rather be in one of the 'Saw' movie traps than spend time with the Pit, so he opts the little guy. Dean waits until he starts putting on makeup (because as much as Gabriel swears he doesn't use it, all actors and actresses have to be made up for the stage) before approaching him. Dean tries to channel the I-don't-care nonchalant walk of an alleycat as he leans back on the counter. His hood is covering up the bruises radiating from where the bottle hit him last night and it doesn't look too unnatural (then again, Dean has been looking at it so much that he's desensitized to it). 

**  
**

"Hey there." He starts, and this is just too weird. The boy looks like a deer in headlights. "So uh... Can I use that after you?" Dean points to the foundation in his hand. Baby Cinder Head looks at him and hones in on the peeking purple. He understands. 

**  
**

"Sure. Here- I'm done with it anyway." The boy is discreet, thank goodness, and hands over the bottle.

**  
**

"Thanks, man." Dean hops off to the bathroom, careful not to let himself be seen. 

**  
**

The discoloration of the bruise is just over his nose now. It’s an almost perfect square over his eye that fades to a purplish-blue. The foundation doesn’t exactly match him, at least now it looks a bit like an old sunburn or a smudge. When he sees the stage director, he looks her dead in the eyes and tells her that he’s just tired. No one questions him. No one talks to him.    
×××××   
John is asleep when Dean and Sam come home, his body still toxic from the alcohol. They're careful not to make a sound as they navigate around the clutter to their room. They clean up their own space before getting the recycling bin out.

**  
**

"This needs to stop." Sam whispers just loud enough for his brother to hear. 

**  
**

"When I'm 18, I swear I'll get us out." 

**  
**

"We've got a long time until then."

**  
**

"We've made it this far. What's a few more months?" 

**  
**

“Everything!” Sam hisses, “What if he kills you?”

**  
**

Dean pauses. He’s never thought about it and didn’t think this was one of the things Sam was seriously concerned with. “He won’t. He only attacks me when he’s drunk and I have enough experience to make sure neither of us get hurt." 

**  
**

“We can’t keep this up forever.” Sam murmurs. 

**  
**

“I know. One day, we'll look back on this and remember, but we'll never have to live it again. Just give me a few months.”

×××××   
Today is the last day to finish set building, so the crew and nice members of the cast and the Pit (they actually exist, much to Dean's surprise) are whirling around trying to bring it all together. It's a delicate balance that requires everyone involved in it to know exactly what they're doing.

**  
**

Dean is on heavy lifting and scrap removal because honestly, look at him- six foot one and muscled all over. The head of set building probably took a half-glance and assumed he was all brawn no brains because all he's doing now is holding up beams. They let him go back to moving all the two-by-four’s with Sam after hammering his finger once and dropping saw dust all over him. 

**  
**

If anyone asks, Dean will swear on his life he didn’t know he was there. It's like a train wreck he can't stop but has to watch anyway. The first loud  thump  occurs when he picks up the six foot 2x4 and throws it backwards so he can get into the middle. 

**  
**

"Dean!!" Yelps Sam, and he points behind his brother. 

**  
**

"What?" He says, turning, and there's a guy standing behind him doubled over. The beam is moving too fast, and it comes around to slap the boy in the right side of the head. Charlie and everyone else on painting catapult down the stairs. Dean gentle puts the beam down and kneels. 

**  
**

"Oh, shit, blue eyes, I didn't see you there. You alright?" It’s the actor from yesterday, the one he stole makeup from (oops. He’ll fix that later). The boy’s got skin like satin, and it’s a startling contrast to Dean’s tanned and machine-worked hands. He pulls the actor onto his feet and checks for blood. The kid’s actually adorable. 

In a dude-ish way, of course.

There’s a small crowd around him of kids from every department. Off the his back right, two pit orchestra girls are laughing at him. 

**  
**

"You're such a Neanderthal, Dean. Gosh, I'm just glad you didn't hit him harder." The first girl plays the drums in a big plastic container in the hole under the stage. Her name is Wrath. She and Dean once scheduled a fistfight when they were 10. It ended with half of the teaching staff pulling Dean off of her mid-pin and unhinging Wrath's nails from his back. They still fight about who would've won. Dean knows for a fact it would've been him. 

**  
**

"Yeah, you're so uncoordinated. I guess that's why you're not on sports." The other girl, Lust, laughs. She plays the piccolo in the front row. Sometimes, he'll catch her sitting back in her chair with her instrument stuck in between her cleavage. Dean likes the look, but there's no way he's letter her drag him down. Considering the number of guys she’s bagged, there’s a pretty good chance that he’ll get a mutant STD. Gabriel shoves Lust aside to drop by his brother.

**  
**

"Hey yo ma, chill them tittysprinkles! Cas's fine and it was an accident, right Dean?" Gabriel laughs. His lighthearted banter dissipates the tension in the crew and cast, and the two orchestra kids sulk back to the Pit. 

**  
**

"Um.... Yeah." 

**  
**

“You should probably get him to a nurse.”

**  
**

“Do we even have one here?”

**  
**

Charlie ponders this a moment. “Probably not. No one in this town gets paid overtime so she probably hauled ass back home.”

**  
**

“He’ll live. Thank you for your concern, though.” Gabriel ushers his baby brother off. The Pit goes back to their hole in the stage and the rest of the crew scatter. The rest of the people saunter back to their places. dean can’t help but feel guilty for hitting Cas with the wood, but at least now he knows the boy’s name. 

×××××

Dean is packing up to leave when he spots two of the Pit kids walking with an almost murderous intent. He knows the look, and if there's going to be a brawl, he might as well be there to help break it up(and besides, who doesn’t love throwing punches). The two (he thinks their names are War and Pestilence) slip into the far room. Dean keeps low and sneaks up next to the door. 

**  
**

"You think you're so tough, huh, Gabriel. You think you can do whatever you want."

**  
**

"Bitch, I'm fabulous! I do as I please." The short boy snorts. Gabe was literally the most flamboyant gay person Dean had ever seen. In the one-horse town they came from, this made the Novak's outliers. Somehow, though he became the star of their high school. Funny how things work sometimes. 

**  
**

"Leave him be." Dean growls, exposing his hiding place.

**  
**

“Stay out of this, Winchester.” Pestilence grumbles. Dean rushes them, holding up War with one forearm and keeping Pestilence on his toes with the other. 

**  
**

“I’ll tell you what- you two leave my buddy alone, and I  won’t give you concussions?” 

**  
**

They look at each other, then War relents. His eyes are still narrowed at Dean releases the skinny boy in his other hand. 

**  
**

"I'll remember this." War snarls. 

**  
**

"Good. I hope you do." Gabriel is still leaning against the wall, same as always. 

**  
**

"That's an efficient way to deal with them." Gabriel turns to face Dean. "You know me, I know you. No introductions- but the fact of it is that now I owe you. Do you  want the bathroom or the closet? I know a couple of good ones no one remembers." 

**  
**

"....excuse me?" Dean looks for a hint that Gabe is kidding. He is not.

**  
**

"Wait, do you not.....? Oh my god, are you straight?!" 

**  
**

"Yeah. Wh- ooooh..... No.... I don't- I mean..." 

**  
**

"I totally get it." Gabriel nods. He puts his hands up in the "no problem" position. In the distance, Anna is calling for her brother. Gabe waves and starts walking backwards. “I meant it, Dean- you need anything,  anything , hit me up. I can hook you through to the best of the best, belive me.” he says through his lollipop. 

**  
**

“I don’t need you to help me, but sure.” 

×××××

The next day, Gabriel watches him in physics. Dean gets freaked out and resolves to look out the window for the entire class. His teacher is displeased with him, but the fucks that he gave before that point have all flown away. 

**  
**

He’s back at crew and *surprise surprise* the actors are getting reamed by the stage director. It’s ugly and Dean isn’t sure whether to cry or die laughing. There are only a few more rehearsals before the real thing goes up, and the head lady is demanding perfection. 

  
“Stick of gum to whoever guess the first screw up.” Charlie crackles over the intercom. 

**  
**

“Betting on Castiel.” says Sam from his booth.

**  
**

“No way- it’s gonna be rainbow boy.” Dean clicks in. 

**  
**

“My gum’s on Inias. He’s too nervous.” Gilda adds quietly.

**  
**

“Anna, only because she hasn’t been taken yet.”

**  
**

“Are you kidding me, Jo? That’s why?” laughs Dorothy.

**  
**

“What? It’s a good reason. What about you?”

**  
**

“I don’t know. Maybe Zachariah? He’s pompous like Gabe.”

**  
**

“I second the opinion. Him or Rachel.” Dean shields his com from the storm of actors staring at him coldly. Outside, he can see everyone setting up around the  lip of the stage where the pit orchestra is. They jump into the hole and go under. 

**  
**

When the play finally does start, Dean has thrown a handful of levers and pulled the curtain. All he has to do now is wait for something to happen. The only thing that does is Castiel coming out and talking. His voice is smooth and boy, can he sing. Dean didn't know such a small body could do that. 

**  
**

The gum goes to Jo. Anna missed her entrance and the stage director made them restart the whole scene. There are only a few more days until opening night, and every night is going to be a late one. The stage director mandated that everyone stays until the run through is perfect, apparently, and they're a long way away from that.    
×××××

Fucking finally. Last practice run through before opening night.   
Dean has one hand on the lever, the other on the fire curtain pulley. The moment Sam taken down the lights, he flips the switch up and moves the curtain. Down below, Dorothy and Jo run the gangplank in from the runway down from the stairs. Everything goes smoothly, thankfully, as the plank locks into place. The actors are waiting either in the wings or outside the double doors. They walk in at different times as a way to interact with the audience. The stage director still looks like she’s going to kill someone, so Dean focuses on the people mounting the stairs and the upper deck as though he could telekinetically shove them off. 

**  
**

Castiel murmurs a small ‘excuse me’ before moving behind Dean for his props. He moves aside, eyes still watching the bright outside. When Dean falls back onto his easy chair for the thirty minute break between now and when he has to move stuff. Castiel mounts the stairs off to the side to get to the highest deck. He looks elegant up there, and for a moment, Dean feels that same sort of nervous energy that usually happens when he’s looking at a hot chick. But Cas isn’t a hot chick. He’s a nerdy guy. What the hell.

**  
**

“I gotta snap out of this.” he growls to no one in particular. As much as he tries to get his mind off of Castiel’s elegance/ actorly swagger/ adorable kitten look, it’s not working. The stage director makes them redo  Gabriel  reasoning that their situation is looking grim, so the crew resets itself. Dean looks on from the wings and considers how much things will change if he does start thinking about Cas like that. 

×××××   
They play the overpopulationmobile game on the way back home. Literally everyone needed a ride, so Dean popped the trunk and let Charlie and Gilda hop in. Sam had shotgun while Jo had taken Anna along for fun. They had climbed in the back. 

**  
**

"Dean, hold on. I need to do something." 

**  
**

"Be quick! Baby has to get home."

**  
**

"It's still weird that you named your freaking car." Gilda says with a sassy roll of her eyes. 

**  
**

"Baby is special." Dean says defensively. 

**  
**

Anna returns out of breath. She's towing along Castiel, who looks like an angry kitten the way he pouts and his body resists the motion even under all the layers and that stupid trenchcoat he wears even when it isn't raining. Dean finds it hilarious and the 'awww' noise is just fighting for attention is his larynx. But nope, not letting that go. Not the time to be cutesy or whatever. Too many people to insult him. 

**  
**

"Gabe was being an asshole again and I don't want Cas to have to go with him. Can he just hang with all of us?" 

**  
**

"I'm good. Any objections?" Dean calls to the general area. It's silent. "Wonderful." 

×××××

Castiel is the most polite person to ever enter Dean's car. It's a Christmas miracle. And he’s darn cute too. (In a dude-ish sort of way, of course.) Charlie can see something’s wrong with him, and she asks in her abrupt way,

**  
**

“What’s gotten into you? Car rides with you are never this quiet. What is it, an acute infestation of the love bugs?”

**  
**

“Charlie!” Dean growls, turning before she can see him blush, “Of course not. It’s just… you know the deal with the tree house.” That’s partially true. He’s had to go up to the treehouse more often than he’d like in the last few days. Mentioning John keeps her off the subject. 

But why does he have to defend himself in the first place? It’s not like he really  likes  Castiel.

That’s just not something that happens. 

×××××

It's packed. It's like the whole town came to see them. They're going over final checks through the intercom as the actors and actresses get ready off to the side.    
"Ready?" Sam whispers over the com.

**  
**

"Sound's up." Says Charlie.

**  
**

"Good back here." Calls Jo.

**  
**

"Set in the wings." 

**  
**

"Alright. Bringing down the house." 

**  
**

Dean hugs close to the wall when the com bleeps back on with, 

**  
**

"Bring up the house!! We can't find Castiel." 

**  
**

"What do you mean, you can't find him? I thought he was back with the wingmen!" 

**  
**

"Yeah he left to go get his face beat with makeup but I haven't seen him since then." Dean looks to the other side of the stage where Dorothy is shaking her head 'no, he isn't here'. 

**  
**

"I'm going to put on an announcement. All of you- find him." 

×××××   
Castiel is somewhere, but no one knows where and they’ve got ten minutes before he has to be walking up the gangplank and spewing verses like a sassy Englishman. The whole crew literally threw on their walkie-talkies using some bougie tape contraption and made a run for it. Dorothy is up in the ceiling and Jo is checking the changing rooms. The others ran down the back corridor and into the music room, so they’re probably searching through the main building. Dean is just in limbo. 

**  
**

"Just checked the upper floor and I've got nothing." Says Sam. 

**  
**

"I went for the prop room. Nothing there either. I'm headed for the actor's changing room." 

**  
**

Dean stops for a moment. Castiel is small for being 16. He's bookish. He doesn't like much attention, but he's smart enough to not be found until he wants. So where....?

**  
**

He comes to the conclusion that one of the only places he could go for some peace and quiet is the lighting control room. It locks, but Castiel is a smart boy. He could get in there. 

**  
**

“Cas? Cas, I don’t know if you’re in there or not, but everybody’s runnin’ around like chickens without heads, so could you just come back? What is it, stage fright? Bad food? The director is gonna have our heads if we can’t find you. They’re waiting in the crowd for you. You’re a main, for heaven’s sake!” Dean spins in a circle. “Ugh, I’m just talking to empty spaces.” 

**  
**

“I’m right here, Dean.” and Castiel has just materialized in front of him like magic. What the hell. 

**  
**

“What the-! How’d you do that?” 

**  
**

“What?”

**  
**

“That! Appearing! Oh, never mind. Let’s go!”

**  
**

“But… I…what if something goes wrong? I’ve never been in front of that many people before…” He says. Dean holds onto his shoulder. Like hell is playing ‘finding the needle in the haystack’ with the guy again. 

**  
**

“Come on- you’re going out there tonight. We ain’t about to cancel just ‘cuz you’re nervous.” 

**  
**

“ Aren’t . And what- hey! Put me down!” Before Castiel could object, Dean carried him off in the princess hold- namely, how brides get carried out of the church. The thought isn’t so bad, except they’d both be in suits and they’d probably have matching ties, not to mention the other people in his crew would-

Why the hell is he planning a wedding. There’s shit to do.  

He meets up with the other backstage people as he’s walking down the side hall to the changing rooms and the main double doors where the rest of the cast is.

**  
**

“Dorothy! Get ladyboss on the line and tell her we’re a go.” The brunette pulls on her com on the other side of the stage. The announcements come on again as Dean gets to the door where all the other actors and actress are waiting to make their entrances. 

**  
**

“Listen to me, ok- I thought you were gonna be horrible when I first saw you at rehearsal, but you’re actually pretty decent. Ok, you’re really good. But anyway, you’re really nervous now but as soon as you get up there I know you’ll swing into it. It’s a natural thing for you, to perform.” Castiel’s mouth is just hanging open with surprise. “I’ll be where I always am with the levers. Holler if you need anything.” Dean ruffles Cas’ hair, messing with the gels before running back to open the curtain before the announcements end. He makes it just in time to watch the show unfold. 

×××××

It was a good performance. Castiel wasn’t even the one to mess up. 

At the end of the night, Alastair crawls out of the Pit, dragging Abaddon with him. He produces a rose. Dean scoffs and leaves for Baby before he can hear him speak. The rest of the crew comes out later and rave about how much they want to scatter lego’s around the Pit and then steal all the shoes. 

  
Alistair and Abaddon are the ‘it’ couple now, ever since that stunt with the promposal in front of the opening night crowd. Dean doesn’t care much about Abbadon since she’s a junky whore, but his urge to deck Alistair in the face is growing every time he sees the bastard. It’s not like everyone used to talk to his group, but it’s sickening to watch people crowd around the fiery redhead and her designated male. Just ew. 

**  
**

He has Castiel by his side (and when did this happen?) (How did he live before this?) And everything is good. They've all become close over the past few weeks, running around like chickens without heads trying to pull the production together. 

×××××

Dean never expected to be spending so much time with the Novak's. Not so much Anna, as he would've expected, but more Gabriel and Cas. Whenever John isn't home, he brings them around to hang out. 

  
Gabriel is chatting with Sammy when Dean gets to the lot after cleaning up. It’s a strange sight, the sophomore towering over the senior. He can see how awkward Gabe is making his brother, and that makes the situation all the better. 

**  
**

“Yo need a lift, Gabe?” Dean calls. 

**  
**

“Nah…”

**  
**

“You sure?” Sam is sitting on the open window, looking over the hood to Dean’s side of the car.

**  
**

“I already owe you for one! Not really into racking up favors from any one person, you know what I mean? And besides-” He points to the next lot, “ as tempting as a ride with you is, Sammykins, I’ve got Garrison over there and he’s calling my name. I’ll catch you two around.” The short boy clicks his tongue twice and literally jumps into his car. Sam doesn’t remove himself from the window. 

**  
**

“So. Gabe?” Dean smirks. Something is up. Definitely. 

**  
**

“Hm? What about?” Sam has his puppy dog innocent eyes going on. 

**  
**

“Come on! You’re never that friendly with complete strangers!”

**  
**

“So?” He says defensively, “it’s not like you’re exactly warm and fuzzy.”

**  
**

“Excuse me? The one who gets the ladies?” Dean laughs. They climbs into the Impala and high tail out of the parking lot. "Whatever. I've got my eye on you..."

×××××   
The matinee was boring. Dean remembers falling asleep somewhere around  You’re the Top  and  Delovely  because damn, he didn’t even have to anything in the first half. Dorothy came through and Nerf gun assassinated him so he could move the curtain and do the background change. But tonight’s going to be great. The crowd is considerably larger than last night’s (which just sounds weird to say since he didn’t even know this many people lived in this neck of fuck-all Kansas). 

×××××

The rest of the crew ditched him, those assholes. Dean went to check up on Baby and everyone else went out for dinner in town. So now he’s alone. Lovely. 

**  
**

“Dean?” 

**  
**

“Cas?” Dean shuffles out from under the car, sweaty and feeling awful. Castiel is still somehow wearing his trenchcoat without dying from heatstroke. He has his legs crossed and is looking down at Dean. It’s almost like he’s one of those ulra-polite little school girls. 

**  
**

“What are you doing down there?” 

**  
**

“Just working on Baby. What are you doing here?” 

**  
**

Castiel shrugs, “Nothing, really, I don’t want to go out with the rest of the cast. I see enough of Gabriel and Anna at home and some of the others are real uhm…  characters .”

**  
**

“I can name a couple.” Dean laughs. “Zachariah, Hester.” he fake-coughs. Castiel has this little, airy laugh. It’s shy and controlled and Dean makes it his mission to make Castiel laugh more. 

×××××

Before he knows it, he's opening up the fire safety curtains so the cast can bow. The pit orchestra's leader, Mr. MacLeod, waved from his designated hole in the ground. 

**  
**

It's senior night at the play, so at the end when the music dies down, the stage director comes back up and says,

**  
**

"In honor of our last performance, some of the younger students have offered to write little commentaries for our Final Bow. Please hold your applause until the end, thanks." 

**  
**

Winchester is at the end of the alphabet, so Dean doesn't even notice his name has been called until one of the spotlight girls call him over com. Castiel's voice is small and tender as he reads, 

**  
**

"This rose goes to one of the newer members to the play, and though you may not see him all the time, he makes our ship run smoothly. He's helped me out more times than I know, and despite being a tough person on the outside, he's quite kind. So Dean, this one is for you." 

**  
**

Dean is frozen in place. In all his years, he'd never been given praise like that. Cas played it off as the kind of normal thing anyone would do, of course he did. The trenchcoat-ed boy motioned for him to join the seniors on stage, and when he did, Castiel opened his arms for a hug. Dean responded by ducking down and picking the boy up, spinning him a couple of times. 

This was one of the best times yet.  

A good time, yet he was so terrified. 

He had Castiel so close to him, and that they were practically one.

The embrace wasn't what scared him. 

It was not wanting to let go.

×××××

They're chilling out at the Winchester's having some ice cream and drunken smoothies insteqd of going to the normal cast party. Each one of them recounted a different part of the night. The last performance…..  eventful . 

  
“That part when Zachariah jumped in and the set moved? Holy shit, I was scared for my life!” Castiel, Jo, Anna, Charlie, Gilda, Sam, Gabriel, and Dean are walking together back to Baby and Garrison to go out to the lake. It's more peaceful out there, and it's sort of like their own personal headspace. 

**  
**

“Nah, when Castiel had to do the creep to Uriel! I swear I almost died. My Arizona almost came out of my nose, I was laughing so hard.”

**  
**

“I’m glad you enjoyed it. We most certainly did.” Cas interjected quietly. While they're all laughing, Gabriel gets up and announces,

**  
**

“As much as I hate most of the cast, Inias isn’t so bad on the eyes. I’ll tell ya about it tomorrow morning. Later!” He calls.    
  


“You goin’ with him to the party?” Anna puts her hand on her little brother’s shoulder.    
  


“No- you go ahead. Dean, would you drive me home?” 

**  
**

“Huh? Oh, um…. yeah, sure.” 

×××××   
Castiel gets home at about 12:30. Dean firmly insisted on staying in the car because he didn't want to get his head ripped off by the two superpowers that lived there. They come home to another one of Michael's and Lucifer's wars. Dean looks at the blue eyed junior and asks, 

"Are you sure you'll be OK?" 

**  
**

Cas nods. The boy is truly a saint, dealing with everything he has without so much as a complaint. Literally, he has 99 problems and Dean’s only like… twelve of them. 

In his book, that isn't so bad. Maybe he can get closer to his blue eyed angel.

×××××

Michael calls Dean up a few days later, thanking him for taking care of Cas. Dean says that it was really no big deal since Cas was probably more responsible than himself. 

×××××

It was one of those nights where the moon hung so high and wide that it looked like a fake; like a projection. Of course it wasn't, but that didn't make it any less beautiful to look at. 

It's that night that John comes home in his usual state and Dean doesn't have enough time to register what's going on before the screen door slams open. 

**  
**

"Dad?!"

**  
**

"Dean!"

**  
**

"Dad?!"

**  
**

"Sam!" 

**  
**

"....dad...?" 

**  
**

"Gabriel, no!" 

**  
**

"Dean-"

**  
**

"Cas, come on!"

**  
**

"John." 

**  
**

"GABRIEL STOP."

**  
**

They make a mad dash for the door as a bottle breaks overhead. Gabriel hops in Garrison with his baby brother and Dean, still apologizing profusely to them, follows close behind in Baby. 

×××××

Gabriel ended up snatching Sam around 11 to do more interesting things than sit around at home. They're pretty cute, Dean will admit, as weird as it is for his little brother to be in some puppy love limbo with a flamboyant firecracker like Gabriel. But he'll take it. Sammy has had his fair share of problems. Of Gabe is who makes him happy, he'll deal. Now if only dealing with his own feelings was as easy as dealing with someone else’s. 

×××××

John came home again, but at least the others weren't there. Gabriel has been taking Sammy out on this little dates (as much as Sam would deny it and say 'No, dean, we're just friends we aren't dating'), Charlie has been away with her girlfriend and Anna has been learning how to shoot from Jo. He's fortunate, he supposes. 

Dean got into a fistfight with John  that ended with him hitting the cabinets too hard and then tumbling out the window. John could see him in the bushes given how drunk he was and how late it was. Whoop-de-frickin’-do. 

**  
**

He feels so helpless like this, his arm hanging limply by his side. The cool Kansas air makes it sting just a little less, and he takes it as nature reimbursing him for all the terrible cards he’s been dealt in her game of life. Dean’s hand waivers over the handful of numbers he has stored in his phone. He pauses, thinks his choices over, then goes through with hitting the call button. 

**  
**

“Who is this and do I need a shotgun?” Gabriel’s standard telephone answer made him smile. 

**  
**

“Hey, uh, Gabe? Do you think you could some pick me up? I hurt my arm and it needs to be fixed.”

**  
**

“Why can’t you do it at your house? Sammy’s here, and we were just about to tuck into that solid Disney.”

**  
**

“Gabriel, I don’t have time for this. Could you just put Sam on the phone?” 

**  
**

"Ugh, fine. Sweet cheeks- your bro wants to chat!" There's a scuffle and Sam brushes over the receiver. 

**  
**

"Dean what is it?" 

**  
**

"I need you to convince that unicorn you're dating to come get me." 

**  
**

"We are not--! Why should we come get you." 

**  
**

"Look, Sam, it's a long story-" 

**  
**

"A long story is not the same thing as dealing with dad!" 

**  
**

"Dammit, Sam, just get me!" 

**  
**

"No!" 

**  
**

“What the hell?!”

**  
**

“Give me one good reason I should drag Gabriel out there to get your sorry ass.” 

**  
**

"My fucking arm might be broken, ok?! Now is not the time to do this, he is out driving after me and I don't have time to get to the police station without Baby!" 

**  
**

"Shit... OK, where are you?" 

**  
**

"I'm on Delteng, near the treehouse."

**  
**

"Got it.” He says, moving himself away from the receiver, “Gabe- let's move."  

×××××   
The hospital sends him home with a splint and strict order to not carry anything over fifty pounds. Gabriel gets his eldest brothers to let Dean stay until John is sober, or at the very least for tonight. They say alright, but he has to sleep on the floor. Dean tells them that it’s better than the tree house. Michael looks at him like he’s crazy and Lucifer slaps Michael, telling him to be nice and that “of course he can stay here, he’s welcome whenever he needs”. 

**  
**

It’s about 12:30 on a non-school night and Dean is out and about. The Novak's have a nice house on the good side of town. It's spacious and just filled with the kinds of things smart people would have. Of course, Dean wouldn't know what these kinds of thing are since he's almost failing in every course subject besides history. There's a faint rustling, so he hides behind a corner. 

**  
**

"Dean, I know you're there."

**  
**

"Cas?" And he's facing down the hall at one the arguably most adorable things he's ever seen. Castiel has wide-framed glasses and a bed head. He's wearing a pair of shorts with pastel stripes and an old T-shirt from Disneyland. It's the perfect combination of sleepy boy and tired kitten that makes whatever is behind Dean's sternum hurt. "What....?"

**  
**

"I always read at night. What are you doing?"

**  
**

"I'm a nightowl by nature." 

**  
**

"Oh...." Castiel pops his head into the others rooms before dragging Dean to his room and sitting him down on the bed.

**  
**

"What kinds of things do you do to fall asleep?"

**  
**

"Me? Well I uh..... I go outside and stuff, o guess...? I watch a lot of TV too."

**  
**

"Ever read?" 

**  
**

"Not too good with that...."

**  
**

"Here- pick one." Dean looks incredulously at the giant pile of books on the nightstand, but closes his eyes and grabs hold. 

**  
**

"Oh I love this one!  The Hobbit  is a true classic."

**  
**

".....are you gonna read me to sleep?" 

**  
**

"Do you have any objections?" 

**  
**

"What?! No, I just-- no, go ahead."

**  
**

"Wonderful." Castiel climbs back into bed, pulling the covers over himself and the Winchester. His head rests gently on Dean's muscled chest, crooked at the perfect angle so he can start reading. 

×××××

Dean wakes up with his body turned inward and Castiel in his arms, breathing softly. It's surprising, how gentle the boy is, and how Dean just wants to keep him safe from everyone and save the moments like this. The sun isn't quite up yet, so he pulls the covers back up over his eyes and wraps around Castiel a little bit closer. 

×××××

There’s an anon invite going around the school. It’s going to be a rave at Garth’s, and as far as Dean knows, everyone is going. That includes all three Novak high schoolers. Anna already left for Jo’s and Gabriel just swung down from the tree outside his room and is waiting in the backseat with Sam. 

  
“Ugh, I can’t go back up there and get him myself. We’ll have to pray.” Gabriel scoots up so his hands are resting on the back of Dean’s headrest. He leans forward and puts his head down. Dean turns to face him.

**  
**

“Are you fucking serious?”

**  
**

“What else are we gonna do?!” Gabriel huffs, sitting back with his arms crossed. 

**  
**

“Fine.” Dean bows his head. “And now I lay me down to sleep, I pray that Castiel gets his feathery ass down here.” He peeks up. Nothing. “Come on, Cas! I know you can hear me!” 

**  
**

“I can hear you, Dean.” the boy’s already in the car, somehow, buckled and ready to go in a pair of light tan pants and one of Dean’s band shirts. He’ll never admit it, but damn, does that looks a hell of a lot better than the sweater vest. 

**  
**

“Ay! Look who decided to show up.” 

**  
**

“Great, you’re happy! Whoop-de-fucking-do. Now will you please get moving so their parent-brothers don’t smite us?” Sam facepalms. He does not have time for this considering he has things to do.

Like stay alive. 

**  
**

Dean gets to about 20 miles an hour before switching on his headlights. If Michael and Lucifer hadn’t seen Gabe and Cas escaping through their bedroom window and into Baby, they certainly did now. 

**  
**

Benny is bouncing today, and he lets Dean and his friends into the house with a brief, rough embrace and a complicated handshake. 

“Enjoy, man.”

**  
**

“Thanks. Will do.” They salute each other. 

**  
**

“Who’s house is this?” Gabriel shouts over the the blaring music and people talking. 

**  
**

“Some guy named Garth.”

**  
**

“The computer nerd?!?!” Sam screams. A girl runs past him towards the bathroom, stumbling. Dean can tell that the poor kid is scared out of his mind. Of what, he can’t tell.

**  
**

“How should I know?!” He shouts back. “I just pick out bits and pieces from the gossip and but two and two together!”

**  
**

“Dean, I know that’s all the math you can do, but could you have at least made sure this is the right place?!” 

**  
**

There’s a skinny, scruffy boy walking towards them with a pair of light-up glasses on and a taxidermy antelope head propped up in the crook of his elbow. The four of them look at him with wide eyes because  what the serious fuck . 

**  
**

“Nope, I take it back. This is the right place.” The others just nod in agreement.

**  
**

“Why hello there, compadres! Welcome to my humble and awesome abode. Drinks are in the kitchen and there’s pong outside. If the police come, you never saw me. And if you have to run…. go through the woods because you’ll probably be fucked otherwise. Peace, bitches!” Garth stumbles away, presumably to join the funnel competition going on in the living room.

**  
**

“I didn’t know we had this many people in our school.” Castiel says in Dean’s ear.

**  
**

“Of course we don’t! They’re all from surrounding districts, I bet, or college kids like Benny. Now come on! Get in there!” he laughs. Dean goes to find the car. Castiel gets lost in the bodies, but he isn’t too worried about the angel. He’ll be alright. 

×××××   
He makes out with a nameless and faceless girl that night. She’s pretty, but there’s something off about her. Dean can’t remember if they went to one of the upstairs rooms together or not. 

×××××   
He wakes up under the bed that is decisively not in Garth’s house similar to how a troll would under a bridge. His head is killing him and there are phosphenes swirling in and out of focus. There’s nothing around that helps give a definite answer to the ‘where’ and ‘how’ questions. 

**  
**

There are footprints coming up the stairs, so he grabs the sheet pooled on the far side of the bed and puts it over himself. Luckily, the person doesn’t look under the mattress. Dean is literally the monster under the bed.  What the hell . He opens a window and descends onto the terrace with some creative reverse mountain climber moves. 

×××××   
Castiel is in considerably better shape than Dean on Monday. Gabriel is still going on about how he won a pong championship deathmatch coming in clutch. Sam is still partially traumatized.  

**  
**

“So, was that your first party?”

**  
**

“Of that nature? Yes.”

**  
**

“What did ya think?” Dean has a smug grin on his face. He’s just corrupted one the teacher’s pets; one of the class angels. 

**  
**

“It was alright until I had to rescue you.” 

**  
**

“What? When?” 

**  
**

“You were this close to getting into a fistfight with the Pit!” Castiel’s voice is low and soaked in resentment. “I’ve saved you so many times, and half the time you don’t even recognize that you’re setting yourself up for virtual murder! Be careful, for once, would you?”

**  
**

Dean’s taken aback. This is definitely not how he planned this situation to go. “What the hell are you talking about?” He growls back. In a low voice, he adds, “I never asked you to take care of me! I can fight my own fights! It was the pit orchestra, so what? They’ve all hated me for years because I don’t put up with their shit. It’s nothing new, so why don’t you back off?” 

**  
**

“You think you’re so much stronger than you are, Dean, and that’s going to get you in trouble one day! Probably sooner than you think, and no matter how much I bust my ass to help you, I can’t always be there!”

**  
**

“Why do you care if they come after me? I can deal with them! It’s practically my second job!”

**  
**

Castiel slams his locker closed with more force than Dean thought the boy had in him. 

**  
**

“You are my friend, and I cannot sit idle while they plan for the day they tear you to pieces.” Dean looks at him with narrowed eyes. There’s no arguing this, and they both know it. Hopefully Castiel will just drop it, because if they keep going on like this, there will be even more ‘Dean Winchester Douchbaggery’ on the internet and Dean will probably say something to Cas that he doesn’t mean. It will put their relationship back months, and he doesn’t have that time. He loves Cas like a brother, and it would kill him to lose his blue-eyed honey.

**  
**

“Don’t get involved in this!” Dean’s voice is shaky. This has never happened before, where someone is actively fighting his foes alongside him Charlie and Gilda and everyone have given him advice and whatnot, but nothing like Cas. How much  has he done behind the scenes?

**  
**

Castiel storms off, and Dean turns the other way to go to his classroom. He can see Castiel’s family and his few friends that aren’t aligned with the Winchester crew crowding around him the same way Charlie and Gilda and everyone else cluster around Dean. 

**  
**

“Care to explain?”

**  
**

“Not right now, no.”

**  
**

“A’ight. Suit yourself.” Charlie shrugs. The morning bells ring, and it’s time to forget about the party and about Castiel being enraged at him. 

×××××

Castiel avoids looking Dean in the eye. They don't talk for the next two weeks. It hurts him physically to not have him there. Everyone has been complaining about how much of a downer he is, but he doesn't do anything about it. He doesn't have the strength to keep this charade up: he has to make up with Cas.

×××××   
"We need to talk, Cas." Dean yells up the ladder. He knows that if he's there, he'll hear and just think about it. And even if he doesn't...it's a good start, just voicing his thoughts. The rest of the crew threatened to drag them to an intervention or lock them in a cupboard. "Come on, Cas!" He waits a moment. "OK, you know what? I don't know if you're here, but if you are, I'm sorry, OK? You're a great friend and I'm sorry that I was such a jerk to you. You don't deserve that, after all you've done."

×××××

The nameless and faceless girl was Abaddon. Dean is in the middle of soaking his tongue in mouthwash when Alistair barges in, calling him every name in the book and even ones in foreign languages. 

They’re having such a wonderful screaming match right now. Alistair is livid over Dean kissing Abaddon (which, as he’s stated at least twenty times, was an accident and completely unenjoyable) (because as much as she’ll deny it, she’s a thot), and Dean is angry over Alistair existing. There's a split second when there's reason, and then it's gone like a breeze. Castiel is calling attention to the fact that this argument, among the other ones that they've had over the past four years, is pointless and they need to stop. Somewhere in this middle of his "why can't we be friends" speech, there's a fist in his face and the boy slams face first into the pavement. 

**  
**

Dean sees red, and Alistair knows he’s fucked up. 

  
Dean darts forward, but his head is down so he doesn't see the boy dodge. Alistair throws his right but leans too far, so Dean dodges easily and catches him in the left side of the face. There’s a small crowd around them and phones everywhere. The prospect of beating this dickhead’s ass in public makes it all the more worthwhile. Alistair punches him once in the chest and once in the same eye John hit him in while he’s distracted. This cannot get out of hand. Dean dances and dodges around the messy fighter. He knows that this match is unfair, but hell if it isn’t amusing. 

**  
**

“Get back here!” 

**  
**

“Hell no!” Dean uses a left block and does the ‘this is sparta’ kick. The violinist flies back into the arms of the Pit orchestra. Alistair goes for the low tackle, and Dean takes half a step back to kick him square in the plexus. 

**  
**

The school staff come through a couple seconds later, shoving aside students to get to Alistair. Dean stands tall. These people aren’t scary, as much as they try to be. If anything, they’d probably turn tail and head for the hills if Dean so much as stutter stepped towards them.

**  
**

“What’s going on here?” The principal stands at the head of the fleet of teachers. “Winchester…I should’ve known. Get your ass to my office! On the double!”

**  
**

“Yessir.” Dean nods. Everyone’s quietly applauding him. They respect him, and no amount of trouble will change that.

**  
**

“And you, Alistair, what excuse do you have?” 

**  
**

“Well, sir, I was-”

**  
**

“Rhetorical question! Get  your  sorry ass to the nurse, then to the vice principal’s office! I’ll let her deal with you.” 

×××××   
“I’m not dying, Dean, I can walk for myself.”

**  
**

“Yeah, but the view is nicer up there, ain’t it.”

**  
**

“ Isn’t it .” Castiel scolds. “But yes…. I do enjoy riding on your shoulders.” 

**  
**

“Same thing.” Dean shrugs, and his friend leans forward to wrap his arms around Dean’s forehead with a death grip stronger than the stronger heavy metal guitarist. 

×××××

Senior year goes by so much faster with all of the friends from the play.  Anything Goes  got nominated for an award and some big shot producer took them to Utah to perform. The show goes on its last competitive run at the tail end of May, and June goes by without him really noticing. Before he knows it, Dean is telling people about his college plans and preparing for those God-awful end of the year tests. Castiel helps him study, and Gabriel comes over just for fun. Anna drops by every once in a while dragging along Jo, who subsequently bring Charlie and Gilda. Every once in a while, John will come home and Dean will have to do The Scatter before kicking Sam out again. He had to go back to the hospital last Wednesday for stitches because John threw a broken bottle at him. How original. 

×××××

It's when he pays his senior dues and John comes for what seems like the millionth time this week that Dean and Cas are alone in his room. He's been debating over whether or not to say anything, but it's his senior year and he swore in September that he would have no regrets. Dean's mouth runs before his mind can tell him to shut up.    
“I have to ask you something serious, and I know that this isn’t exactly the best time-” Dean says, putting a 2x4 through his door handle. He and Sam had purposely changed their door knobs specifically for moments like this. He sits down at the base of the door and invites Castiel to sit next to him. “but I have a serious question.” 

**  
**

“Dammit, Dean, get out here!” John pounds on the door, rattling both of them.

**  
**

“You’re definitely right about the bad timing part.” Castiel smiles. John screams like a dying orca stuck on a rock during a heatwave.

**  
**

"Oh, ha ha." Dean bucks back against the door. "But seriously- will you go to prom with me?"

**  
**

Cas' eyes are wide with surprise as Dean produces a flower crown from a shoebox. He holds it out like a peace offering.

**  
**

"Yes! Of course- I would love to go with you." Dean props the crown upon his fingertips, placing it gently on the mess of brown hair.

“ And though I’m not a great romancer, I know I have found the answer when you propose! ” he sings. Dean laughs and wraps his little friend in a bone-crushing hug. All the stress just leaves him as they hold each other until John leaves. 

**  
**

×××××   
Dean is scared shitless. What if he messes up? What if he ruins prom for Cas? What if Cas never wants to talk to him again? He can’t deal with the thought of never having his blue eyed kitten again. It just can’t happen. 

**  
**

“Hey, you ready yet?!” Sam shouts from downstairs. Gabriel, much to the rest of the senior class’ dismay, invited Sammy. 

**  
**

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll be there in a minute!” 

**  
**

"Dean-O come on! Prom night, buddy we gotta get a move on!" Gabriel calls from downstairs.

**  
**

"I know! I got it!" He mutters a quick 'bitch' under his breath before descending, and at the bottom of the stairs, Cas is dressed in a grey suit with a charcoal colored tie to contrast Dean's black suit and smoke-colored tie. He trips down the last couple of stairs, earning a laugh from the others. 

**  
**

"You look lovely, Dean." Castiel's eyes shine brighter with a fondness be never knew existed. 

**  
**

"You look better." He says. 

**  
**

Sam and Gabriel go in Garrison while Dean takes Cas in Baby. He mechanized a drop-top roof, so they sing oldies while the wind runs past their faces. The car pulls up to the venue 15 minutes late, but for Dean it doesn't matter- he has the rest of the night with his angel. 

×××××

It’s a good night. Alistair and Abaddon don’t stay long enough to piss off Dean. Castiel slow dances with him. Twice. 

It’s been a good night. 

**  
**

They pile up into the Impala and head back to the Winchester’s house. It’s beautiful and starry and everything he wanted for this prom night. Dean wishes that it could never end, Castiel asleep with his head on Dean’s shoulder, Sam and Gabriel tangled up in the back.  Carry On My Wayward Son  is playing softly on the radio, and how could this night get any more perfect?

×××××

It has been a good night.

Castiel climbs into bed after Dean, and for the first time in a long time, he’s got someone who isn’t Sam with him who actually cares. Right before they're about to fall asleep, Dean whispers, 

**  
**

"Y'know, we make a pretty good team." 

**  
**

"Perfect, I would say." 

**  
**

"Cas, I know this is kind of sudden, but these past months have been the greatest time of my life."

**  
**

"Even with your dad?"

**  
**

"Yup, you know why?"

**  
**

"No...tell me?" Castiel us laying partially on top of him, his head resting on the backs of his hands. 

**  
**

"Because you were there."

**  
**

"I'm touched, Dean, really."

**  
**

"Cas, would.... I.... Would you go out with me?" 

**  
**

"Hypothetically or actually?" He says, and Dean doesn't have the energy to facepalm.

**  
**

"In reality, Cas. You're special to me, and I want that. With you." He says, looking at the boy in front of him. "If, of course, you would have me."

**  
**

Castiel is quiet for a moment. His eyes are wide with surprise, but then he just giggles softly and snuggles in under Dean's arm. 

**  
**

"I would love to be your boyfriend."  

**  
**

Dean falls asleep smiling.

Indeed, it has been a good night.

×××××

It’s a miracle in and of itself that Dean graduated on time. 

Castiel snuggles with Dean despite the temperature being near 100 degrees and the dust from the wind still caked on from fixing Baby. 

**  
**

"I'm going to miss you so much." 

**  
**

"I'll come visit you whenever I can."

**  
**

"Promise?" 

**  
**

"Of course." 

**  
**

Castiel helps pack up Baby with the rest of Dean's friends. They all insult him and spew sappiness in turn. 

  
They send him off with a string of threats for if he doesn't come back and pie his car. They're all so freaking weird and he's gonna miss the hell outta them because he loves all of them. It’s a weird relationship he has with his Crew, but hey-

anything goes.

**  
**

**Author's Note:**

> Questions? Comments? Requests?


End file.
